Well, what has the public done for them? Sue RJ Reynolds for their own bad habits. Ditto McDonald's, Wendy's, etc. Every corporation has to have legions of lawyers on their side just to shield themselves from lawsuits because people refuse to take responsibility for their own actions.

Does this justify the Corps? No. Does this justify the citizens? No. It's just a dirty cycle that started small and has worked its way into the norm. That doesn't mean that I'm all cool with the RIAA, though. Apparently actual, real piracy only hurts the MPAA by $1 Billion a year. That's a lot of money, but totals to a mere 4% of DVD sales alone. (See Macrovision story on /. today for details.)